Four Years Later, Arnold’s Tonight Show Pledge Rings Hollow

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Derek Cressman

On August 6, 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger stunned the world by declaring his candidacy to become California’s governor during a conversation with Jay Leno on The Tonight Show. The announcement was surprising not only for its unusual setting, but because even Schwarzenegger’s closest political advisors expected Arnold to announce that night that he would not run.

Schwarzenegger further excited his audience by proclaiming that he, unlike Gray Davis, would be free from entanglements with Sacramento special interests: “As you know, I don’t need to take any money from anybody. I have plenty of money myself. I will make decisions for the people.”

Arnold’s campaign staff, who had not prepared him for this statement, quickly qualified the promise to mean that Schwarzenegger would in fact be raising money for his campaign, just not from special interests. One of Schwarzenegger’s most powerful campaign ads decried the current system of political fundraising: “Special interests have a stranglehold on Sacramento. … Here’s how it works. Money goes in—favors go out. The people lose. We need to send a message. Game over.”

Voters sent the message. They fired a sitting governor for only the second time in U.S. history. Unfortunately, both Schwarzenegger and members of the legislature appear to have forgotten about it.

Schwarzenegger raised $136 million from 2003-2006. Gray Davis, by comparison, raised $120 million over a seven-year period. With both men, most of this money came from donors with agendas in Sacramento that were distinctly different from the interests of the public at large. You could fairly describe these particular agendas as “special.” Others simply had their own “special” ideologies that they could promote by making political expenditures that dwarfed those that ordinary citizens could afford. More than three-quarters of Schwarzenegger’s political funds came from donors who gave more than $10,000.